Wireless Case Study

Jan Snyder

San Antonio Community Hospital

Upland, CA

• Highly mobile workforce

• Need instant and continuous access to information

• Desire greater staff efficiencies

• Opportunity to improve service

Why Wireless?

• First-generation WLAN installed 1999

• Wi-Fi: intriguing but costly to install and support

• Difficult to troubleshoot, limited capabilities

• Very difficult to scale

Wireless Experience

• Physician/nurse communications

• Access to PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications Systems)

– Storage and retrieval of radiographic images

– Improves drug delivery accuracy

• Efficient patient flow management

• Leverage existing infrastructure

Critical Requirements

• PACS network requires failure-resistant infrastructure

• Layer 3 network

– Two core switches

• No failure in 43 months

Importance of Redundancy

• Crossing Layer 3 subnet boundaries is critical

• Layer 2-based WLAN system enables greatest mobility

• Applications, such as voice, uninterrupted while roaming

• Secure connections link wireless users between PACS subnets

• Secure encryption guarantees privacy

Need for True Mobility

Roaming Across Layer 3

• Emergency – bedside data entry

• Surgery – wireless x-ray display

• Admission – quicker assessment

• Case management – improves care, streamlines patient flow

• Discharge – frees up bed space for new patients

Services Improved

• Permits nurses to communicate with physicians

• Requires support for fast roaming with no change of IP address

• Requires strong QoS in WLAN

• Enabled via new PBX that links wireless to desktop phones

Voice over Wireless IP

Total Cost of Ownership(One-Year Period)

Old Arch. New Arch.

Capital $180,000 $149,000

Ops Site survey $8,000 $2,000

Cabling $53,000 $53,000

Deployment $37,000 $2,000

Config APs $15,000 $1,000

Support $25,000 $2,000

subtotal $128,000 $63,000

TCO (one year) $318,000 $212,000

Total Cost of Ownership(Five-Year Period)

Cost Old Arch New Arch

Capital $360,000 $298,000

Operations $488,000 $148,000

TCO

(5 years)$848,000 $446,000

Productivity GainsOld Net New Net Annual

Savings

Case mgmt 15 patients/

nurse/day

20 patients/

nurse/day$150,000

Emergency $20,000

Admissions $86,000

Discharge $67,000

IS $42,000

Total $365,000

Formula: 33% productivity increase X annual nurse salary X 15 nurses = $150,000

• Costs for one year = $212,000

• Savings for one year = $365,000

• ROI = less than one year

Return on Investment

• Physicians and nurses communicate continually

• Constant access to PACS for radiology images

• Efficient patient flow

– Admission, case management, discharge

• Leverages existing network

WLAN Meets Needs

Lessons Learned(Microsoft 2001 Deployment)

Microsoft Problems SACH Solution

25 users per AP Design for capacity

10-meter rule Dual-radio APs

Manual site survey Automated planning

1 service call per 40 APs per day

Automated tool for troubleshooting

Two cables – datalink and console

Two cables – redundant Ethernet

Backup AP configs Configs stored in database

“Buglight” syndrome Dual PoE, datalinks

• Users roam and communicate

• Ease of use– No changes to their handheld device, wearable

phones

• Security – authentication and encryption– Users transmit data securely

• Mobility– Users always have correct network access as they

roam (Identity-Based Networking)

Benefits for Users

• Simplified planning and design

• Depiction of RF transmissions

• Automatic configuration of WLAN– WLAN switches and APs

• No changes to clients or core network

• User location on the floor plan

• Rogue detection and location on plan– APs, users, ad hoc users

• 70% to 90% reduction in OpEx

Benefits for IT